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Friday, November 11, 2011

We need to find 1.6 million gallons of water for beef production

Meeting today's demand for beef.

Now, before I start this post today I want to declare that I support choice and diversity in agriculture. I think it is really important that when you go buy your family's food that you have a choice. I love that at the beef counter you can choose between (traditionally raised - what the Boy and my family does), organic, natural, locally grown, etc. However, I do know that we aren't going to be able to supply the amount of beef this country needs by just partaking in one system. I know this because?

Well I cam across this really cool video last week called Meeting Today's Beef Demand. I wanted to put a few of the facts down on paper, especially for those that can get there dial up speed Internet to load the video.

In 1955, there were 165,931,202 people in the U.S., and 90,000,000 cows.

Today, there is 308,000,000 people in the U.S. and 90,000,000 cows.

Wait a second. How can the same number of cattle be feeding us today? Without the improvements we have made in traditional beef practices we would need 180,000,000 cows. And that would mean 440,000,000 additional acres of land.

Not to mention almost 1.6 million gallons of water per day. Yikes.

However, by supporting traditional beef raised with modern practices we don't have to find these additional resources. Family farmers and ranchers can conserve resources and produce more with less. So on a day when there are lots of reasons to say thanks I say thank you veterans for providing a place where farmers and ranchers can do their jobs.

About Me

These are just a few of the stories that make up the life of an ag girl. I have a passion for agriculture, and want to see farmers remain on the land, raising food for all of us. You'll also get a dash of cattle life from around the country as I travel for work, and some commentary on my hectic life. I love photography, video production, K-State (yes I bleed purple), the livestock industry and have bounced from Alberta, to Kansas, to Missouri, to Iowa. Stay tuned. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @crystalcattle